The Silent Flower

Chapter One: The Mission

"She's alive."

Queen Angella sat on her throne, her back erect with hands neatly folded in her lap. In front of her stood Glimmer, Catra, Adora, and Bow, a group that seemed to always be together no matter the situation. Out of the crew, it was her daughter speaking, and though she felt concern, distress, and anger at their current argument, it wasn't towards her eldest child. It was towards the memories that their conversation brought back. It was towards the people who caused the incident that fateful night five years before. It was towards herself for letting it happen in the first place.

"I'm serious, Mom," Glimmer continued, a hint of desperation in her voice. "Think about it. When our reality shifted, you saw her. You held her. We both did. She was right there with us."

"That reality wasn't real," she replied, the slight shake in her voice betraying her calm

facade. Though it had felt so real, she knew it had all been an alternate reality. One that made her life feel perfect. "None of it was, and you know this."

"Maybe the actual reality wasn't real," Glimmer stressed. "But the people inside of it were!"

"Glimmer's right," Bow added. "Everyone who was stuck in that situation saw only those who were already alive."

"Can you be sure about that?" Her voice was purposefully sharper now. That whole previous event of shifting realities had mentally and emotionally done a number on her, and that mixed with what they were suggesting made her heart ache for something she had already given up on. "Can each of you honestly stand there, look me straight in the eye, and tell me that everyone on Etheria who experienced that reality change could only see people who were currently alive and well?"

"Yes, we can."

Adora answered with a firm, unquestionable certainty, her eyes reflecting her tone.

"Your majesty," she continued. "We've traveled to the other kingdoms and have spoken to the princesses. They are the only ones who can recall the memories from that event, and each confirmed that the only people they met were those who were alive. No, they're not all of Etheria, but you have to remember that each princess has suffered a great loss. A perfect reality for them would have included those who weren't around anymore, but it didn't. None of them saw anyone who had died."

Angella was quiet at this, unsure of how to respond. Logically, it all made sense, and if they were right, then it would mean that her second child was still living. Yet there was a part of her that feared to believe. It had been five years since her youngest had been kidnapped, and after two years of empty handed searches, Angella had come to terms with the fact that her youngest had passed. It was a pain she had never quite healed from, a pain that had made her almost overbearing with her adventurous Glimmer, and while this current news sparked a slight hope, she didn't want to put her whole heart into believing only for it to break again.

"I don't know."

"Mom! Come on!"

"You should believe Sparkles over here." Catra stood beside Adora, her arms crossed over her chest. "She may be a little crazy but she's not wrong. If both of you saw her in that reality, then she's still alive somewhere."

"Mom, please."

Glimmer walked up the stairs to face her. She then felt her daughter slip her hands into her own, a comforting smile on her face.

"I know this is hard for you. It's hard for me, too. You always acted strong after losing her, but I knew it broke your heart and that it still does. I wouldn't ever say these words if I didn't firmly believe it. Please trust me. She's still out there, which means we need to start looking again."